Dark Destiny
by Lady Dawson
Chapter Eleven: Faces From the Past
Sylvia stepped through the quiet and dead streets of San Francisco as she patrolled the streets, looking for any demons that were straying through, looking for the remaining members of the resistance. Her blonde hair bounced off of her shoulder as she cast a glance behind her, a crossbow held at the ready, stepping around the corner.
Hearing a noise behind her, Sylvia stopped, glancing behind her to see nobody there, but that didn't mean that there wasn't somebody following her. Returning her attention to the streets, Sylvia quickened her pace to draw the person out of hiding, so that she could find out who and what they wanted. Of course, at the moment, orders from Wyatt were to take her dead or alive, but she didn't know if the person was working for Wyatt or not.
The person was close enough now, within firing range, and she whirled around, pointing the crossbow directly at . . .
"Sylvia, don't shoot!" Chris exclaimed, holding up his hands in surrender. She released a soft sigh of exasperation as she lowered the weapon. "Sorry. Jeez, you scared me half to death."
"I scared you?" Sylvia exclaimed, glaring at him. "Who was it being Mr. Stealthy Guy?" Chris made a face at her, but grinned as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "So, what's going on down in the darker part of town? Heard anything good?"
"Well, mostly Wyatt's angry that he didn't manage to capture you in his assault on the resistance. Which, of course, means that he's been killing some of his demons left and right due to his frustration. I think he killed more in the past week than you guys have killed in the past five years."
"That's not a comforting thought." Sylvia shook her head as she peered around the corner. "Think we're alone?"
"Don't worry," Chris assured her. "I can sense one of the demons approaching from a mile off. We'll be safe for awhile." He looked at her for a long moment and reached out, pushing a strand of blonde hair out of her face as she looked up at him. "So, how are you?"
Sylvia looked up at him, into his green eyes and just like every other time, she felt as though pure, absolute bliss was washing over her, taking her to a place that was brighter and purer than this one. "I'm still alive," she said finally. "Nerves are still high strung, though." Slipping her crossbow on the sling on her side, she crossed her arms and took a step away from him. "Chris, are you sure that this is safe?"
"I told you, I can sense—"
Sylvia shook her head. "I don't mean this," she said, pointing between the two of them. "I mean you being at Wyatt's undercover. You're closer to him than anyone. If he found out that you were spying on him for us . . ." She trailed off as Chris walked over, sitting down next to her. "He'd kill you."
"He wouldn't," Chris assured her, wrapping an arm around her. "Sylvia, I know that you don't have the best impression of Wyatt and honestly, how can you? But he's still my brother and I know that somewhere deep inside is the son that Mom raised."
With a sigh, Sylvia rested her head onto his shoulder. "I think that Wyatt was long gone before Piper died," she said quietly, looking up at him. Chris chose to say nothing to this statement. "So, meeting tonight? We'll go over the stage of attack then?"
"I'll be there," Chris promised as he stood up. "I should go. He'll start wondering where I am."
"Right," Sylvia muttered as she stood up. "I should get back to patrolling anyway." Chris nodded once as he started to orb away. "Chris?" He re-materialised, looking expectantly at him. "Be careful, all right? I've lost enough friends this week."
"I'll be careful," he promised her, giving her a kiss on the forehead before he dematerialised, leaving her standing alone in the alleyway. Sylvia sighed as she stared where he'd been.
"I love you, Chris," she whispered softly as she walked away, pulling her crossbow out as she ventured out into the street again. There were still a couple demon nests that she wanted to check out before dawn. And anyway, Lyla had gotten a hint from a demon hunter they'd met that they'd been discovered at their new hiding place and were gonna relocate as soon as they could. Parker had hinted that Chris was the reason why they'd been discovered, but Lyla's fist pretty much shut him up.
Sylvia was glad that someone on her team understood her friendship with Chris and her need to save him from the darkness, but she knew that Lyla was just as wary of her friendship with Chris as Parker was. She just chose to trust Sylvia's judgement.
As she stepped onto the street where they had launched the attack on the resistance while she was in Ireland, Sylvia stared up at it for awhile. If she had done things different, would so many who had died be alive? Would the friends she had made, the allies that had fought alongside her, be with her now, to continue the fight? Would any of them understand that she had to save the son of the eldest Charmed One?
"You've done a good job."
Sylvia whirled around to point the crossbow at the apparition that was standing behind her. The woman was very familiar, with her long brown hair and calm brown eyes that could look into her soul. With a smile, the woman stepped sideways, into the shadows and the glow around her became brighter and she came into focus.
"Piper?" Sylvia whispered in shock. The eldest Charmed One smiled at her as she took an unsteady step towards her, lowering her weapon as she stared at her. "Is it you?"
"It's me," Piper assured her as she reached out and touched Sylvia's cheek tenderly. The telepath closed her eyes slightly, the shock and disbelief nearly overwhelming her. "Sylvia, don't be afraid. It's me, I promise." She reached out and rested her hand just above Sylvia's arm. Being a ghost, she couldn't physically touch the young telepathic witch. "My dear, sweet girl . . . you've been so brave."
"I don't know about that," Sylvia admitted, still unable to believe that she was having a conversation with Chris's long-dead mother. "I haven't exactly been the best role-model lately."
"You've done the best you could with the circumstances you had," Piper said kindly. "You've tried to keep your family together, even after your mother died. Raised James almost on your own for nearly five years, created the resistance, fought your own best friend and his brother . . . trust me, sweetie, you've been braver than you can possibly imagine. I couldn't be prouder of my own daughter."
It was that statement that made Sylvia break down into sobs as she sank down onto the porch of an abandoned, half-demolished house. Piper smiled gently at her as she sat down next to the still-living witch. "Why did this have to happen?" she whispered. "Why did this happen, Piper?"
"Oh, sweetheart," Piper sighed. "There are things about this that I don't understand and could never have. You think I want to see my boys become the sources of all evil? I don't. Although, you've done a pretty good job saving one of them," she added with a smile.
"He still needs time," Sylvia said quietly. "Even I don't understand why he did go with Wyatt. I know he believes that he's responsible for your dying, but I don't understand why Wyatt manipulated Chris's memories like that. It's almost like there's something that he's trying to hide."
"I can't answer that one, sweetie," Piper admitted. "You're gonna have to figure that one out in your own time." She sighed. "Your mom wanted to know how James is doing, with Prue and everything."
Sylvia looked up at Piper and sighed. "He's dealing," she admitted. "He's holding up. Barely."
"And you?"
"About the same." Sylvia looked at Piper. "I mean, everything is back to the way it was before the resistance started going. We've got basically four members, one spy, and a couple of sources that may or may not be on our side. We're totally screwed, Piper, and everyone knows that." She sighed. "It might be easier just to toss in the white towel now, before anybody else gets hurt. At least then, he might make our deaths less painful. If we went in now, he might not even kill us."
"You, he wouldn't," Piper acknowledged. "He'd just make you his queen, force you bear him heirs, kill your friends and your little brother, and then turn you into the perfect assailant for any witches who might still be tied to good. But James? Lyla? Parker? Even Chris? He wouldn't stop hurting them if you did turn yourselves in. The only way to survive is to keep fighting. The world needs you to keep fighting, Sylvia. Chris needs you to keep fighting," she added gently. "He's starting to get his faith back in fighting the good fight. Now is not the time for you to lose faith."
Sylvia smiled faintly. "I'm not," she said warily. "I'm just tired."
Piper nodded. "You haven't been sleeping well," she noted, seeing Sylvia's tired expression.
Looking up at Piper, Sylvia whispered, "The dreams are getting worse, Piper. Before all this happened . . . I used to have dreams of a dark and desolate future where we were fighting for our very survival. Now . . . I see something coming that's too terrible to describe. Something's about to happen, something terrible and big, but I don't know what."
"I know."
Her head shot up to stare at Piper. "You know?" she echoed. "What is it, Piper? What's coming?"
"Well, I don't have all the fine details, but what's left of the Elders know that something is headed our way and Wyatt is at the centre of it. There's bigger forces at work here than you know. All I can tell you is that you need to get Chris to remember what really happened that day, because he saw something of vital importance that day that could decide our future. Everything is going to change, Sylvia, and everyone is going to have to decide the path that they are going to take."
Sylvia shook her head, annoyed with Piper's cryptic-ness. "Okay, enough with the cryptic, please, and just tell me what's gonna happen," she demanded, giving Piper the evil eye.
"Can't do that, sweetie, sorry. But I can tell you that if you want to know what's going to happen, you're going to have to go directly to the source. There's a prophecy hidden in Wyatt's dominion. Chris will know where it is. The prophecy has the answers that you'll need."
"That's not a whole lot of help."
"I know, but it's all I can say. Unfortunately, I can't say much, because you've got to fight this battle without us." Piper reached towards her and for a minute, she turned corporeal, letting herself touch Sylvia's blonde hair. "You're the new hope for the future." She sighed as she looked into the distance. "And don't lose him, Sylvia. It's only going to bring you more heartache than you'll be able to take."
Sylvia shrugged, knowing she was talking about Chris. "I've dealt with it before," she replied.
"It'll be worse this time," Piper told her. "After getting him back, just barely, only to lose him, irreversibly, to evil again? If he goes back, then there is no saving him this time, Sylvia. Find the prophecy and prepare yourself. You and Chris have to be ready."
With a small sigh, Sylvia brushed her hand through her hair as she glanced up at Piper. "I know that you're going to say that you can't tell me, but what exactly should we be preparing for?" she inquired and Piper chuckled, smiling down at her.
"You'll know when you find the prophecy," she answered as she stood up. "The answers are all there. Of course, it might take a good translator to find the answers, because I think it might be in some dead demon language. I'm not really sure. The Elders weren't too specific. They're really annoying with that whole mystery thing, you know."
Sylvia could sense that their time was almost up. "Do you really have to go?" she asked. Piper smiled at her and nodded.
"I'm afraid so," she admitted. "I'll give your love to your mother, shall I?" Sylvia nodded, a lump starting to form in her throat. "Oh, and I'll be leaving you with a new ally, one that the Elders sent down to help you. And old friend, you might call him, but he's not who he used to be. You can come down now!" she called, looking skyward.
Sylvia looked up as white lights suddenly appeared in the street, revealing a young man around her own age with brown hair and gentle brown eyes that were looking directly at the telepath sadly. "Hi, Sylvia," he said softly, walking towards her and standing before her uncomfortably.
"Simon," she whispered, launching onto the young man whose death she felt responsible for and whom she had loved like a brother for five years. "Oh, gods, Simon . . . you're alive."
"Not exactly," he admitted, pulling away.
"What do you mean, not exactly?"
"It's like this," Piper told her as she stood before the two, "he's a Whitelighter now."
